What to do when your phone is lost or stolen - and how to...

1of3The Find My iPhone app can show you where your iPhone is located. If your iPhone is lost or stolen, you can use someone else's iPhone or iPad to help locate it.Photo: Chronicle screenshot

2of3You can submit a command via Find My iPhone to erase a lost or stolen device, even if the device is turned off. When it does reconnect to the internet, it will be wiped clean.Photo: Chronicle screenshot

3of3When Dwight Silverman's phone was stolen in 2017 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, his wife ised her iPhone to snap this photo of the thief as he sprinted away.Photo: Lisa Silverman

Few things are as dread-inducing as a smartphone going missing. Whether it has been stolen, left behind or lost beneath a sofa cushion, a missing smartphone is a First World personal crisis. If it has happened to you, then you know what a sinking feeling that can be.

I certainly do. My iPhone was lifted out of my shirt pocket on a street in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in September 2017. My wife, thinking fast, snapped a photo of the thief as he sprinted away and I yelled curses in both Spanish and English after him. (I was not going to chase after him down unfamiliar side streets.) And then I used her iPhone to secure mine via the Find My iPhone app.

As far as I can tell, that device - a rose gold iPhone 7 Plus - has never again connected to a cell network or the internet. But if it ever does, a command awaits that will erase everything on it and render it unusable.

Here’s what you need to do before your smartphone vanishes — either through malicious or forgetful actions — and what you should do immediately upon discovering it’s gone.

Install or activate a tracker

Both Apple and Android phones have the built-in capability to find a lost device. On an iPhone or iPad, it’s called Find My iPhone. To make sure it’s on, go to Settings, tap your name at the top of the screen, then the name of your phone below that. From there, you can turn on Find My iPhone, if it’s not on already.

On Android devices, it’s Find My Device. On a stock Android installation, go to Settings and then Security & Location. Some Android handset manufacturers may have a different tracking app in another location, and if you have an older Android smartphone, you may need to install a third-party app.

Bonus tip: Both iPhones and Android devices can benefit from an app called Prey, which duplicates some of the functions of the built-in tracker and adds a few more. It appears as a game app, making it harder for thieves to spot. It’s free at preyproject.com.

Lock down your phone

Both iPhones and Androids strongly discourage you from not setting some kind of lock mechanism on your phone, whether it’s a PIN, a swipe pattern, a fingerprint or facial recognition. Still, some people don’t set it up, and this is a huge mistake.

For most people, a smartphone provides access to all kinds of personal and financial information that could be disastrous in the hands of an evildoer. Not having some kind of lock in place may not be convenient, but the inconvenience you’d potentially suffer if your phone was maliciously accessed is not worth it.

Using another iOS or Android devices, use Find My iPhone or Find My Device to locate your missing phone. If it’s powered up and communicating with cell towers or GPS, you should see its placement on a map. If it’s off or in Airplane Mode, you’ll see its last known location.

These same apps also let you put a message on the screen indicating the device is lost or stolen; lock the device if it was open when it left your possession; play a loud sound to help find it; and wipe all the information from the device.

I still have an erase command pending on my stolen iPhone — I can see it when I revisit Find My iPhone. So far, that phone has stayed offline.

Contact your carrier

Let your carrier know your phone is missing or stolen as soon as possible. Although it may take up to 24 hours, the service provider can lock the phone out of its network so it can’t be used. And since the major carriers now share reports of stolen phones to a common database, a thief can’t use it on another network, either.

Even though reporting a stolen smartphone to the police seldom results in a recovery, it’s worth doing just in case it does turn up. And if you have insurance that covers your smartphone, you’ll need a police report.

By the way, if you have renter’s or homeowner’s insurance, check to see if theft of personal property is covered. When my iPhone was stolen in Mexico, I reported it to the police there and was pleasantly surprised to learn my renter’s insurance at the time reimbursed me for much of it. The policy even covered the case it was in!

Change your passwords

Even if your device was locked or wiped clean, it’s a good idea to change the passwords on your most critical accounts, such as email, banking, social media, shopping. And when you do, take the opportunity to set up unique passwords for each account, so a breach at one doesn’t leave you vulnerable at all the others.

And for some time after your phone has gone missing, check the activity on these accounts regularly, particularly your banking and shopping accounts. If you have taken all the right steps, you should be in the clear. But vigilance will cost you nothing and bring you added peace of mind.

Then, when you get your replacement phone, go back to the top of this column and use a checklist to prepare for your phone in advance should it happen again — God forbid.

Dwight Silverman is the technology editor for the Houston Chronicle and the grillmaster for the TechBurger tech news site. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Dwight Silverman is the technology editor for the Houston Chronicle. He manages the TechBurger website, and writes about personal technology for HoustonChronicle.com, Chron.com and the print edition. He also writes a weekly tech newsletter, Release Notes.

He previously was the senior web producer for premium products, managing HoustonChronicle.com, the Chronicle's iPad app and E-edition.

He also has worked as the social media manager and technology blogger for the Houston Chronicle and Chron.com. He has been with the Houston Chronicle since 1990, and has worked as an assistant state editor, business reporter, technology columnist and interactive journalism editor. He moved to the website staff in 2000 and was responsible for helping bring blogging and social media to chron.com.

He's also worked at the San Antonio Current, the San Antonio Light and the Beaumont Enterprise.

Silverman is a former co-host of Technology Bytes, a weekly computer call-in show on KPFT-FM. He is also a regular panelist on This Week in Tech, the popular tech news podocast at twit.tv.

He also is the author of three computer books, including "Running Windows on Your Mac" (Peachpit) and "Switching to a Mac: No Problem" (Wiley & Sons).

Silverman has taught journalism classes at the University of Houston, including a course on social media and news.